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How to Verify a Facility's License

The state tools that show license status and inspection history, and why a clean review page means nothing about the regulatory record.

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Home›State Rules›How to Verify a Facility's License

How to check a community's record yourself

Short answer

North Carolina's Division of Health Service Regulation publishes a free Regulated Facilities search for license status, plus a separate Adult Care Home Inspections, Ratings and Penalties tool for compliance history. Nursing homes additionally carry the federal CMS Five-Star rating; adult care homes do not.

NC DHSR Regulated Facilities searchinfo.ncdhhs.gov/dhsr/facilities/search.asp — find any licensed adult care home, family care home, or nursing home by county, city, or name, and view its facility record.
NC DHSR Adult Care Home Inspections, Ratings and Penaltiesinfo.ncdhhs.gov/dhsr/acls/star/search.asp — NC's own compliance-based star rating, inspection reports, and penalties from the last 36 months.
CMS Care CompareFor nursing homes specifically, the federal Five-Star Quality Rating System at medicare.gov/care-compare adds a nationally standardized score that adult care homes do not receive.
DHSR Complaint Intake line1-800-624-3004 (in NC) or 919-855-4500, 9:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m. and 1:00 p.m.–4:00 p.m. weekdays, except holidays
The gap to know about. Because adult care homes are not covered by CMS Five-Star, there is no single, cross-state-comparable quality score for assisted living in North Carolina the way there is for nursing homes. NC's own ACLS tool is the closest equivalent, and it is narrower and North-Carolina-specific.

What to actually look at once you are in there

Pulling the record is easy. Reading it usefully is the part nobody explains.

  • Match the license type to your parent's needs, not just to today. Ask directly about admission and retention criteria.
  • Check the licensee name against the operator. Ownership turns over regularly, and buildings are often marketed under a brand that differs from the license holder.
  • Read deficiency narratives, do not count citations. A missing signature and an injured resident can appear in the same document, formatted identically.
  • Look for repetition across surveys. One citation is an incident. The same finding across consecutive surveys is a pattern.

Questions families ask

What does long-term care insurance typically cover, and should I buy it now to help pay for future care in Raleigh?

Long-term care insurance is a private insurance product that can help pay for services like assisted living, nursing home care, memory care, and in-home care once a policyholder meets the policy's benefit trigger (typically needing help with a set number of activities of daily living or having cognitive impairment). Whether to buy a policy is a personal financial decision that depends on health, age, and budget, and should be made with a licensed insurance agent or financial advisor -- this is general information, not personalized financial advice.

If my family can't afford private-pay assisted living in Wake County, what are our realistic options?

Options generally include North Carolina's State/County Special Assistance program (a state/county cash supplement for low-income adult care home residents, paired with automatic Medicaid eligibility), CAP/DA Medicaid waiver services if the person can remain safely at home, and eventually nursing facility Medicaid if a nursing-facility level of care is needed and financial limits are met. VA Aid & Attendance can also help qualifying wartime veterans and surviving spouses. Contact the Wake County Department of Human Services or an elder law attorney to determine which programs apply.

What is the NC Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program and who runs it?

The NC Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program advocates for residents of nursing homes, adult care homes, and family care homes, investigating and resolving complaints and protecting resident rights. It is run by the NC Division of Aging and Adult Services (part of NCDHHS) at the state level, with 16 regional Offices of the Long-Term Care Ombudsman housed within regional Area Agencies on Aging across the state.

Which regional Ombudsman office covers Wake County, and how do I reach them?

Wake County is covered by the Central Pines Regional Council (formerly Triangle J Council of Governments) regional Ombudsman office. Families can reach this office at 1-800-310-9777, or by mail at 4307 Emperor Blvd., Suite 110, Durham, NC 27703.

My mother lives in a nursing home in Franklin County -- which Ombudsman office should I contact?

Franklin County is not covered by the Central Pines Regional Council office that serves most of the Triangle. Instead, it falls under the Kerr-Tar Regional Council of Governments Ombudsman Program, reachable at 1-866-506-6223 (toll-free) or (252) 436-2050, with a mailing address of PO Box 709, Henderson, NC 27536.

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